No Date Medal James Garfield

Coin Details

Auction Record

$529 NG0 06-02-2002 Goldberg Auctioneers

Description

This undated medal of James Garfield is a standard U.S. Mint bronze presidential medal honoring the twentieth President, whose brief tenure from March 4 to September 19, 1881, was cut short by assassination. Garfield's 199 days in office make his presidency the second shortest in American history, exceeded only by William Henry Harrison's thirty-one days. Yet Garfield's death had consequences that far outlasted his presidency, catalyzing the civil service reform movement that produced the Pendleton Act of 1883. James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) was the last president born in a log cabin, a self-made man who rose from canal boat driver to college professor, Civil War general, and nine-term congressman. He was a genuine intellectual who could simultaneously write in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other — a party trick he reportedly demonstrated at social gatherings. His 1880 nomination came on the thirty-sixth ballot at the Republican convention, making him one of history's most notable dark horse candidates. Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station on July 2, 1881. The assassin, a delusional office-seeker, believed he was owed a diplomatic appointment. Garfield lingered for seventy-nine days while doctors probed his wound with unsterilized instruments, causing the infection that ultimately killed him. Alexander Graham Bell attempted to locate the bullet using an electromagnetic device but was thwarted by the metal bed frame. The undated bronze medal preserves Garfield's bearded likeness for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Standard U.S. Mint bronze presidential medal. Garfield medals carry sentimental interest due to his assassination. Available in the numismatic market.

Cross References

PCGS #413522